I know I disappeared and I apologize. Around Thanksgiving I experienced a serious blog fail when I turned my focus to family and health. I suppose those are decent priorities, but still, I suck. My 2012 New Year’s Resolution* was to spend the year getting healthy and by the time the holidays rolled around I realized there was little time left to accomplish my goals, so I abandoned the blogging ship and swam to shore — ending up on the beach in St. Lucia. HONEYMOON!!! Swoon!

Before jumping back into regular design-y posts I wanted to share a few photos of my trip with you. It was the most amazing trip of my life and so indulgent I’m not sure it can ever be topped. The people there were as lovely as the island itself. But how could you not be if you’re living in paradise?

The Scientist and I can’t wait to go back. But until then, I’ll be here blogging!

——————————————————————————

*Actually, I turned 29 in January and had a complete nervous breakdown when I realized this was the last year of my 20’s. Once the Xanax kicked in I sat down and made a list of all the things I wanted to be or wanted to change about myself by my 30th birthday (which is rapidly approaching). The abbreviated list:

Get Healthy — I don’t know what this means to you but, to me, it meant eating better foods and being more active. I started Weight Watchers to help me track my food intake and it was shocking how poorly I had been eating for the past few years! After a few months of that I dropped 15 lbs and decided that I should have a weight-loss goal. I chose 25 because that was how much I’d gained in the 5 years since I’d met The Scientist. Then I quit Weight Watchers and started using My Fitness Pal (a free app celebs use to track calories — and I must do all the things celebs do) and Nike Training Club (another free app that shouldn’t be free) to keep the weight coming off and hold myself accountable. After dropping 31 lbs, going on my honeymoon (where I ate dessert at least once a day and had a multi-course meal at least twice a day), and being back home for a few days, I can proudly say that, as of today, I’ve lost a total of 27.6 lbs and dropped from a size 12-14 to a solid size 6. I’m hoping that in the next 3 weeks leading up to my birthday I will have lost a total of 30 lbs and I can celebrate my 30th birthday in NYC being 30 lbs lighter. New goal.

Embrace My Heritage — I’m half Mexican but my friends call me a “Mexi-Can’t” because I can’t even handle the mildest of ethnic foods. That’s embarrassing. So last January I started forcing myself to eat mild salsa. It was difficult and unenjoyable at first but now I can eat medium salsa! And I like it! You’re proud, I can tell.

Take Risks — I’m extremely risk-averse. I see danger in all things. I’m pretty sure it’s my parents’ fault for making me watch Rescue 911 when I was little and shouting, “See?! You WILL lose an eye! Cloth napkins are NOT a toy!” Crossing a residential street without a crosswalk literally gives me heart palpitations. BUT! I’ve slowly been forcing myself to do dangerous things like talk to strangers (sometimes) and stand outside for a few minutes without sunblock. I even went snorkeling on our honeymoon last week! Ok, so maybe it was only for a few minutes and I was in water so shallow I could stand up, but I saw some tropical fishes that looked like Nemo’s friends and I was very satisfied. Baby steps.

I’m with you on the mild salsa, and my only excuse is that i’m just wimpy! My NY resolutions: be kind, enjoy nature, sweat when working out (cause i don’t push myself enough, obvs), and read books that aren’t in the teen lit category (sorry twilight and hunger games).